A Pyromaniac's Love Story (1995) User Reviews (14)

More Romance Than Comedy

[aimless-46 · 6/10 · 9 December 2005]

The title is the funniest thing about "A Pyromaniac's Love Story", this so-called romantic "comedy" has a lot more romance than comedy. The movie starts out as another tale of unrequited love as Sergio (John Leguizamo) explains in voice-over that he has long been in love with Hattie (Sadie Frost), the waitress daughter of a diner owner who thinks of him as just a friend.

Although Sergio and Hattie are the movie's core romantic couple, there are two minor romances going on at the same time. The gimmick of "A Pyromaniac's Love Story" is a series of mix-ups involving all three couples. The confusion could be easily cleared up if the persons in each couple bothered to communicate with each other. This might be very funny if the script was well written and clever, but instead it is one of those movie situations which is only credible if you believe that all the characters are morons. So you have a decent love story with good messages about communicating and taking risks to declare your love, buried under a lot of poorly written slop.

"A Pyromaniac's Love Story" tries to be offbeat and whimsical in the style of "Benny and Joon" and although the two scores are almost identical it is never able to achieve the same effect. In part this is because William Baldwin's over-the-top performance is joltingly out of place in relation to how understated everything else is, and Sergio has more screen time with him than with Hattie. A poor choice because Sadie Frost is the strongest member of the cast and has good chemistry with Leguizamo.

If you are looking for a way to make this movie interesting, I suggest that you watch it along with "Bram Stoker's Dracula" which was made 2 years earlier. In that film Frost (who is British) gave a great over-the-top performance as Lucy, a flirty and glamorous London socialite. Yet she is absolutely authentic as an earthy American waitress in "A Pyromaniac's Love Story" (accent, mannerisms, look). You would never guess that it could be the same actress. Frost is one of those talents who you wish had been given more opportunities.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Midly amusing

[Rectangular_businessman · 6/10 · 10 September 2014]

Normally I don't enjoy very much romantic comedies, but personally I found this movie to be a decent watch.

Even when its title could make anyone think that "A Pyromaniac's Love Story" is some kind of black comedy, it is actually a sweet (maybe too sweet for my taste) tale that without being nothing too great or memorable, manages to be reasonably entertaining, despite having the most common clichés of the genre and completely predictable ending.

Like in many other romantic comedies, the characters and plot from this movie are quite unrealistic and completely unbelievable, but since this movie doesn't take itself very seriously, I think I could give it a free pass in that aspect.

If anything, "A Pyromaniac's Love Story" is mostly a harmless experience that won't change anybody's life, but it won't hurt either.

6/10

Arsonists

[jotix100 · 4/10 · 9 December 2005]

Not having any idea what this film was about, but based on the fact that John Leguizamo was appearing in it, we decided to watch it. Well, it turned out not to be the wisest decision. In fact, as another commentary in this forum puts it, we felt embarrassed for the actors that participated in this movie.

While the film is by no means horrible, it doesn't make sense at all. The over the top performance by William Baldwin doesn't help the situation either. John Leguizamo is a multi-talented actor who deserved better. The basic problem it seems to be the film was a project that started with good intentions in making a little comedy and the people in charge ran out of ideas along the way. The result is an uneven film.

Absolutly one of my favorite films

[ryu-11 · 14 April 2004]

This movie is exeptionally entertaining. It doesn't try to be anything more than it is, which is some thing in the romantic comedy vein. And don't take that to mean the movie is your typical Sandra Bullock chick flick. As a guy i am entirely enthralled by this flick. This is largely because of the cast. Billy Baldwin is definitly my favorite in this one. He's great at portraying a complete flake against John Leguizamo's straight man. The plot works great for me, with Baldwins odd behavior providing much of the thrust. I love the great Old New York feel the film has, which largely comes from the bakery and Sergio. In short i really love everything about this movie. Go watch it. Its on TV often enough, and a DVD recently popped up.

So bad actor wanted to be deleted from credits ....

[woodvillelite-1 · 3/10 · 5 February 2018]

I recently thought of this film due to the hype of the fire in the tv show This Is Us. I was on set of this movie during filming many times and it was very eye opening to see how the fire segments were filmed. In the movie it really looked like building were on fire but the real fire was actually quite a far distance away but merged into what really appeared as fire coming out of the windows etc. But ... I digress.

The movie was soooo very bad and most of the actors knew it and just went about full filling their contract to do it. One actor who tried to get out of his contract but couldnt was able to get his name taken off the movie and even though he is there in a few key scenes .... he is not mentioned anywhere. A few years later when someone brought the film up he said he was never in the movie .... the other person was arguing with him "he was in it" .... Richard Crenna stood firm and said he was not in that movie. I was off to the side and just laughed. His name in no where associated with this movie.

Embarrassed for the cast

[rsoonsa · 2/10 · 7 August 2000]

This was an attempt toward a romantic comedy, and one which did not work. Although the film was cast in an interesting manner, the dismal script betrayed the best efforts of all. The director's fey mannerisms may have succeeded if he had adopted a point of view. It was embarrassing to watch William Baldwin and, in particular, Armin Muller-Stahl.

Didn`t Set My Heart Alight

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 3 July 2004]

!!!! MILD SPOILERS !!!!

The premise goes like this : A store gets burnt down and assistant Sergio is asked by the father of the man who started the fire to take the wrap to which Sergio agrees .

So far so good , but there`s a fair lapse of logic involved Sergio agrees to do this for the sum of 25,000 dollars but why ? Come on guys if you were a good looking white boy would you run the risk of getting a long spell in a tough jail ( A very real possibilty for arson ) for the sake of 25 grand ? I know I wouldn`t , and seeing as you`d have a criminal record no employer would want to touch you with a barge pole so is $25,000 dollars all that much for a life of workfare and welfare cheques ? There`s also something else that seems to have gone without notice from the premise , since Mister Lumpke has told Sergio that his son did the fire he seems unware of the possibility that he may know too much . Wouldn`t alarm bells be ringing in your mind about someone wanting to keep you quite if they told you something ?

I guess we`re not suppossed to think about such details since A PYROMANIAC`S LOVE STORY isn`t suppossed to be an intelligent thriller , it`s a light hearted romantic comedy/ chick flick that`s probably best apprieciated as a girls night in . Looking through this comments page it is obvious that the movie has its defenders but as a cynical male I wasn`t too impressed and William Baldwin does go way over the top

Not as bad as the title would lead you to think

[v-square · 7/10 · 9 July 2002]

I caught the film as a lark while looking for movies under 100 minutes. This is a nice little contemporary fairy tale about love. There is an artificial quality to the performances which I think is intentional, but that's offset humor in the script and an artful score. If you liked "Moonstruck" check this out.

Didn't keep me watching

[barbecuedbanana · 3/10 · 4 February 2007]

Started watching this but didn't believe in any of the characters. In particular the relationship between the bakery assistant and the waitress just didn't work for me at all. The scenes between the bakery owner and the assistant were nice but the rest was just very slow. It was a very superficial movie and it gave me the feeling that I was watching play rather than a film. The characters were very 'stagey' and the storyline was a lot like a stage farce. By the time the pyromaniac waylaid the assistant I was bored and didn't care what happened next and so I switched off. Glad I didn't pay to see it. Didn't laugh or even smile once. There seems to be a strange tendency for Americans to classify their films as 'comedy' when they are funny peculiar rather than funny ha ha. I have finally learned to avoid what Americans term dark comedies which usually turn out to be gruesome weird and unfunny. Now it looks like I will have to be a bit more discerning when they call a film romantic comedy as well. Maybe comedy means something different when applied to a film rather than a series in America. I don't understand why America can produce amazingly funny comedies like Two and a half men, Will and Grace, King of Queens but can't seem to produce really funny films without resorting to toilet humour. This film wasn't gross or anything. But it wasn't anything at all just one big yawn...

An awesome romantic fairy tale!

[hereiam35 · 10/10 · 16 October 2002]

This movie is meant to be a bit of fluff, not to be taken too seriously. But it more than adequately describes the emotions and crazy things done in the name of love. No, it won't win an academy award, but it wasn't meant to. If you want a great piece of entertainment that is perfect for a nice quiet date, that is sure to bring a smile to your face and a great feeling to your heart, I strongly recommend this movie!

A fun, simple comedy with many interesting twists.

[GoMangoMan · 10/10 · 20 February 2004]

I can't believe the low score this movie has. With only a bit more than 200 votes, i guess not very many people have seen it.

I would give this a 10 out of 10 in the category of the romantic comedy.

The casting is superb. Armin Mueller-Stahl is awesome as always. Joan Plowright, John Leguizamo, Sadie Frost. Each is simply perfect for their characters, and the characters are so varied and interesting. The music is lively and sets the stage nicely for the crazy twists the story takes.

The cleverest comedy ever produced

[andycitylondon · 10/10 · 31 January 2019]

This movie has the perfect comedy structure. It is easily the most intelligent comedy ever made.

Clearly very few people have heard of this movie, which is unfortunate.

It is such a classic movie that deserves a far higher score on IMDB. Anyone who appreciates comedy should watch this.

Some people have added negative comments. That happens with every movie here on IMDB. It is always best to watch movies for yourself, rather than be swayed by other peoples opinions. We all see the world differently.

best love story for guys ever

[admmak · 10/10 · 9 July 2007]

This is the best not-chick-flick-love-story ever made... This is definitely a movie for guys to enjoy and get emotional... YEAH, GUYS, not emos, not gaymen... STRAIGHT GUYS. It is funny as it is romantic, IN A GUY'S WAY TO SEE LOVE. It is such a good movie, I registered only to rate it. Everyone should see this movie, it's an intelligent plot, the sets are simple, the actors really showed their best and you're gonna like it.

Suggestion for GUYS: Wanna get some profit??? WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND. Suggestion for GIRLS: Wanna see your boyfriend all emotional, laughing and giving you hugs every 10 minutes??? MAKE HIM WATCH IT WITH YOU, he's gonna love it.

One of my faves

[jenkfarrell · 8/10 · 12 April 2023]

This was one of my favorite 90's flicks. It was right there with Singles. It was quirky and weird, yet also had the rom com feel to it. I loved Billy Baldwin back then in this because he just looked like he had bed head through the whole movie, and if you were young in the 90's, that was the "hot guy" look. I've always been a fan of John Luguizamo, so his starring in this just added to my love of the film. It's funny how it has low IMDB ratings by todays standards, because my friend group all loved this movie because it had that same kind of odd/weird vibe that a lot of the cool 90's films had.